Movable reflecting toy



Oct- 21, 1952 H. BOWDITCH 2,614,363

I MOVABLE REFLECTING TOY Filed May 31, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Hoe! Z. Bowdz'ick Oct. 21, 1952 H. BOWDITCH 2,614,363

MOVABLE REFLECTING TOY' Filed May 31, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 63a X INVENTOR Hoel L.Bowd'ifch ATTOR EYS Oct. 21, 1952 H. L. BOWDITCH 2,614,363

MOVABLE REFLECTING TOY Filed May 51, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Hoel l. BowaZiZc/z Patented Got. 21, 1 952 UNITED STATES PATENT I I. 2,614,363 """MOYABLE REFLECTING 'roY Hoel' Ll-Bowditch, Jamaica Plain, Mass; assignor to Bola Toys Incorporated, Greenwich; oonm; a; corporation ofConnecticut ,As sl'ieafiosivisy 31, 1947, Serial No. 751,539

, 18 claims.

This invention in the lustrative embodiment herein shown provides a novel, inexpensive toy which operates to cast a moving'refiectionupon ceiling or wall, which may be manipulated in such manner as to constitute an amusing game.

In its broader aspects however; it relates-to mechanism for producing motion and more par ticularly to mechanism for producing any combination or degree of gyration and oscillation of an axis'about a geometric point. t

One of the objects of the invention is toinipart, by application of force, pivotal motion-to an axis, and by changing the direction of application of the force to' impart oscillating and gyrating motion-components to the pivotal motion. Another object is to cause said ax -to maven-a controlled speed. t

3 Another object is to provide a light projecting device operated by motion of the axis-for produc'- ing on an irregular reflecting surf'acejavisible image which appears effortlessly" to move thereover in any direction. Another objectis to provide for manual control of; the direction and.

on a ceiling the light source being sun rays" entering a window;

Figure l 2 is a perspective view or the toy of Fi ure 1;" v v Figure 3 shows theairplane' silhouette turned through 180";

Figure 4i is a longitudinal "andaxial section taken on line 4-4 of FigureZ'; V

Figureolisan enlarged'detailed section taken through the supporting ball: and socket'of the device of Fi'gureIZ; V I

Figure 6'fshows a modification of a light-projecting device usedfiln the toy 'of'Figure'z v Figure '7 shows another embodiment of the device for supportingand'retarding the monomer the silhouette? Figure s'shows another embodimentof the invention for retarding the motion ofthe-axisy Figure -9 ShoWsanother embodiment of invention wherein a spring is used to apply "the meson-producingisms;

2 Figure 10 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a magnetic field is used as the motion pr'oducing force, and is shOWIi applied" to motion of theother points, the speed of motion being controlled byfr'estricting liquid flow; and

Figure 12 is a detailof the valve arrangement used in the device of Figure 11 Referring to Figure 1, a light reflecting' silhouette II] in the shape of aplan view'of an air plane refiects sunlight (indicated by beam I2) coming through window 1.3, and projects the reflected rays ll upon an irregular reflecting sur face of ceiling [5 to form airplane image it, having the shape or silhouette It. Image it is caused to fly on ceiling IE or on walls iii; the flight being controlled by tilting 'silhouetteilfi to change the angle of incidence betweenbea'm I-2 and silhouette 10. To this end, silhouette ii! is mounted so that its nose may be tilted up or down, and its wings may bedipped to one side or the other to give image It the appearance of flying; Referring to Figures 2 and 5, this sil houette is mounted on a spindle l la about which the silhouette isgrotata'ble in a planeperpendicular to the spindle axis u. The spimue i w, morn ing thesilhouette, is sornoun'ted as to be capable itself of rocking in all directions with respect'to thefvertical. Thus the miniature airplane may is positioned at the front end ofthe' silhouette; thus providing a constant force; which tends always to tip the nose or the silhouette down wardly. As w'illbe more fully eiqolained hereinafter, means are provided to'retard the tllgl' ifi movement of the silhouette and so to retard the rate at whichsilhouette Ill tilts; and the rate at which image i6 'move's, thus creating the illusion of a flyingp'lane.

h To obtain the effect of steering "the movingimage I6; silhouette [0 may he turned about age I I, and as the silhouette is so turned; the weight; of course, turns with it and so continually tends to-tip the nose of the silhouette downwardly; no

matter at what degree of 'aai'muth the silhouette points. Thus-by manually silhouette 10} aboutaids "H the directionin ii-sage Hi 3 points is changed, and the planes image always flies forwardly. The silhouette Ill (Figure 2) is turned about axis H by manually turning steering disc 2|, which is rotatable through 360.

The silhouette l!) in the embodiment of Figure 2 comprises a metal stamping having a regular reflecting surface [4. Referring to Figure 4, the stamping and its supporting spindle I in are supported upon upright post 20 secured to a base |9. Rotatable about post 26 is the steering disc 2| carrying steering pin 22, passing through a slot 23 in plane Iii. Rotation of steering disc 2| about post 20 moves pin 22 and rotates plane I to change the degree of azimuth at which the plane points. Figure 2 shows the plane pointing to the left; whereas Figure 3 shows it turned through 180.

' Referring to Figure 5, spindle Ha supporting plane I0 extends upwardly from a movable base 24. Plane ||l carries bushing 21 which receives spindle ||a, holds the plane normal to axis H, and facilitates free turning of the plane about axis Bushing 27: is staked to plane l5 and, as shown in Figure 5, the lower end of the bushing is turned over as at 21a to provide a thrust bearing which runs on surface 25 of base 24.

Bushing 2'! passes centrally through the body of the silhouette m, so that turning of silhouette |0 about spindle ||a merely turns image IS on the ceiling to change the direction of its flight,

and does not give the impression of an unnatural or violent movement of the plane.

The outer annular surface of bushing 21 receives a removable colored transparent disc 29 which rests on top of surface l4 and serves to give the central part of image H3 an identifying color. The disc 29 is removable so that it may be replaced by discs of other colors.

Referring to Figure 5, the mechanism by which spindle Ha is mounted to move plane H] to give image I5 realistic flight travel will be described. Base 24 has a lower hemispherically shaped part 25, which sets in a spherically shaped cup 30 in the top of post 25. This construction provides for all directions and angles of rocking movement of base 24 in cup 52, and so of plane Iii which, as above described, is supported on the base. Thus the flying image may be guided and positioned as desired.

The plane-supporting base 24 is floated in cup 30 upon a pool of viscous liquid 3| that provides a fluid-friction-retarding force on base 24, that is the liquid provides viscous damping'of the movement of base 24. The liquid permits only slow rocking of base 24 in the cup under the influence of weight 34, and resists any tendency of base 24 to rotate about a vertical axis as the silhouette is rotated to guide the flying image.

Also, the fluid-friction action of fluid 3| holds the plane in any position of lateral tipping (wing dip) in which it may be while permitting continuous downward tipping of the nose. The liquid 3| may be a material such as heavy grease, or preferably a polymerized hydrocarbon of a straight-chain structure, such as Vistanex #8, sold by Advance Solvents and Chemical Corporation, 245 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. A viscous materia1 which does not change its viscosity appreciably in temperature ranges from 60-130" F. is preferable.

Movement of base 24 in cup 3%! (referring to Figures 2 and 4) is caused by weight 34, which in effect applies to axis H a force component normal to the axis causing it to rock base 24 in the direction of the weight. Weight 34 is in fact a nut which threads on a nose portion 32 extending forwardly from the plane and having opposing serrated edges 33 cut to provide male threads for the nut 34. Nut 34 always overbalances the weight of the tail portion of the plane, but as the nut is moved forwardly on the nose, its leverage to rock base 24 is increased and the plane will tilt faster, thus making the image fly faster over the ceiling.

Movement of base 24 by weight 34, therefore, causes axis II to move with respect to a vertical axis XX. The movement is such as continuously to change the angular position of axis H with respect to the vertical axis X-X.

Since axis H can rock in any direction about its effective pivot point, any desired angle of incidence is obtainable within the limits of motion of the plane, and the plane silhouette may project the image l6 to any part of the room. In the Figure 2 embodiment, the plane silhouette can be tilted 30 in any direction from the horizontal.

Reviewing the functioning of the parts: since axis is always rocked in a direction determined by the azimuth position of weight 34 about vertical axis X-X,,manually changing the position of weight 34 changes the direction of flight of image I6 as desired. Thus, by merely turning steering disc 2|, which through pin 22 turns silhouette ID on spindle Ila, the direction of travel of the image on the ceiling'may be changed at will. Because liquid 3| so tightly holds base 24, turning of plane ID on spindle 'l |a does not move base 24 and does not cause any motion of image |6 other than to change its direction of flight.

The radius of cup 30 is preferably larger than that of spherical surface 25 of base 24, so that cup 30 acts as a reservoir to hold viscous material 3| between cup 3|) and base 24. Spherical surface 25, in effect, floats in the viscous liquid, and as the surface rocks in the liquid, the liquid keeps the surface coated, but the rim of cup 30 extending outwardly from surface 25 does not wipe the liquid from the surface, and so the liquid does not flow from the cup down the sides of post 20.

Annular lip 24a serves to prevent the viscous. sticky, liquid 3| from flowing onto surface 26, and so prevents the liquid from interfering with free turning of plane In about spindle Ha. But if material interfering with free turning of plane |0 does get onto bushing 21 or onto surface 25, then the parts are cleaned by lifting plane it) off spindle Ha.

Referring to Figure 5, base 24 is so constructed that in supporting plane II) it holds the geometric center of plane |0 approximately at the point A approximately at the center of hemispherical surface 25. To this end, supporting surface 26 and axis II are made to intersect approximately at point A. Because of the spherical conformation of part 25, rocking of base 24 in cup 30 does not laterally shift the point A of base 24; Therefore, since the point A, about which the base 24 must rock is centrally located with respect to the wings, and since weight 34 is symmetrically disposed with respect to the wings, lateral tipping of the plane does not shift theweight of the plane laterally, and so imparts no force to base 24 to rock it sideways in liquid 3|. Thus, however the plane In is laterally tipped, weight 34 always acts to rock axis forwardly without changing the lateral slope of plane l0, and causes image Hi to fly forwardly without any lateral component of motion. I

In addition to the entertainment afforded by int . damping liquid 131; V

v deified:

:1 steering image; [6 about theiceiling; variouslgames mayzbeplayedt-r Thus; with: two silhouettes; each operatedlby an' individual; a' mock splanexbattle.

mayejbe carried out.-

or by projeoting'spots-of lightl tosdefine a course around the ceiling;tiob'-- stacle races maybe carried out OrJamap may.

be, projected onto the ceiling and the" planes steeredover' prescribed courses; Also, various kin'd'syof images-may beqprojected Thus; sil houette, l 0 maybe in: theasha'pe; of aebird boat; car,,or.fanimalsuch as adog or horse; etc; .q.

whether formed from; .an. artificial light :source,. orfrom sun rays; To the --same end; surface-:14 may; be; made; concave; butvfusing, a; concave; re'- fleeting, surface reverses the, imagez so;.thatr-:the

plane-moving force would have to be applied to thetail of the plane ratherthan to its nose.

(Referring to Figure ii itherreflectingsilhouette ayvb s mirror :w s rf ceili-ma k d wi h paint toleave the reflecting surface 31 i to, reflect ades ed imag -1 r a. re ea e e mask f 111 v m be edtoe rml the m In' t i embodiment, the steering hole 23 is providedas before, and .in placeofpgtensionflga slot38 is provided: with notc e /s9 to receive adjustable weifgmgjat, 1 Spindlelfjrt'wPDorts bushing i'l as "Figure 2 embodiment,

Referrin'g now tofFig ure 'l an ther modifica- -i i' li RSu Qri sJa Q rccki se i r i- In this modification, spindle I I a extends. from v f -u r n she is i m li ifidiee d; at

eiijhaving' anupperfportion'fl carrying spindle.v

t lmend'a lowerj'piortion .44 'eiztending into viscous a a an ula groove 45 which is'en agedend heldby the walls. of fa holethroug'hja' 'diaphragm' 46; made. of]. a

thin; highly flexible material 'such as neoprene or other synthetic rubber-like material.

Liquid this carriedjin frl "seated in thefltojp r: post '2ll. Diaphragniq 46 is supported" from an annular groove 48 inthetop inside edge portion of the cup, and

Theapplicationfof normal to axis 'll causes-shaft to rock in an l I point ofjsuppor't=by diap'hragn1 46.; The viscous liquid -31 by viscous dampingiretardsthe rate of .the-fiinovem'ent as infltIie Eigure 2 embodiment. 'Thisfconstructionhas thefadvantage. that viscous "is; in eiiectg sealed in cup 41. The shaft c p 4 (made or il 7 y direction aboutits is sec 'edthereinby crimping, if 'theg'ciip lie j metal-,,or by cementin" f the. up be plastic.

cause "the center B op; wh ensiihpuette l0 pivots tn spindle Ha is above thepoint A about.

which s af e t sts-whet the time is tilted laterally to dip one wing orfth'e other, center B is moved laterally to one side or "the other of the point A, thereby shifting the .Weight {of the planeto' oneiside'o'r other of point A', This .iin DQ Tt S totaXiS I la Iforce component normaltolthe axis,- but'at' right angles'to the force component imparted by Weight 34, and tends togive the axis ll 'agsideward mover'nent in addition to'the for wardniov'ement imparted by weight 34. The result is. that" image jlt appears to havega side slip.

simi i s e rsi wa d mo that's 4 skill required in flying image" It over the ceiling.

This same eife'ct'of producing sideward movement of the plane,- in addition to its forward movement; may-be obtained in the Figure 2 embodiment by mounting silhouette Hi above the pointA- about which base 24 rocks.

Referring to Figure 8, another embodiment is shownfo'r supporting spindle Ila about which the plane silhouette l0 turns. In this embodi ment. spindle Ha is suitably mounted onthe' end of acircular piece of material 5|,- supported from base- I9. I teristic's which are'that of a solid viscous inaterial havifig low resilieno'y and bendable slowly under a'force applied normal to axis 1 I of spindle Ha; Support 5| shown being bent to the left under the influence of weight 34. Because-of the nature of the material, it slowly yields and bends under the influence of the force of the weight and so rock's axis H in any direction, as described in connection with the modifications of Figures 2 and 7. The material of support 5l may be polymerized hydrocarbons of straight chain structure of' high molecular-weight sold under the trade name Vistanexbythe above-'mentionedAd vance Solvents and Chemical- Corporation.

The material 'olfjsup'poit- 5i rnolded'to have a basepdrtiohii overwhi'ch an annul'arclainping support 53 extends to hold base portion 52 611" a post 530. suitably secured to and-supported from base l9.-. Post 53d also serves as the shaft for steering disc 2| carrying steering" pin 22 asde= scribed in connectionivith Figure 2.

This embodiment has the advantage of sim' plifying-the construction by eliminating liquid material 3| used in theFi'gures 2 and? embodiments. The fact that the'center of rotation or silhouette In is spaced considerably above the effective pivot fpoint about which spindle I la moves (namely; the point of connection of mate by a light spring 54 s'ecured at one end to a'post 55fextendin'g upwardly-from steeringdisc 2!.

51, which extends upwardly from spindle Hit. Post 55 is located diametrically opposite steering post 22:50 that the nose of the plane always points at post 55. Thus, the action of spring 56 applies a force to axis II in a direction to cause the plane to tilt'in the-directionofpost '55.

If desired, a turnbuckle arrangement (not shown)" may beprovided. to adjust the spring tension of spring 54; and so to provide means'for adjusting the speed or movement of image IS on the ceiling Because the pun-or spring 58 on rod sii aiweys directed toward post 55, when axis II is tilted laterallyout of the vertical plane containing post s 7 55; the spring' pull not only moves the 'plane'nos'e l tion cau'ses the'image-to fly in 'a. curved tours; v

rather than a' stfai'g-ht course, and this the a iteristic may be put to advantage by makingihore Material 5| is picked for its charac-i- Spring 54 at its other end is connected to a'rod v difflcultthe steering of image l6 over a desired course, thereby adding to the interest of a game involving skill in flying the image over the ceiling.

Referring to Figure 10, another embodiment of the invention is shown in which a magnetic force is utilized in place of the gravity force supplied by weight 34. In this modification, the lower end M of shaft il is formed of iron. Magnet 49 having north and south magnetic poles 50, is mounted on steering pin 22, which passes through slot 23 as in the Figure 2 embodiment. The magnet attracts the iron part M of shaft 4| and exerts a force upon it pulling it toward the magnet. Plane silhouette i is balanced so that its center of gravity is at the point where it passes through axis Thus, pull of magnet 49 on shaft part 44 causes the plane to move in the direction in which the plane is pointed by steering pin 22. By turning the steering disc 2|, the direction of the travel of image [6 is changed at will. But because When the plane is tilted laterally, the pull of the magnet on part 44 is not aligned with vertical axis X -X, theforce exerted by the magnet tends to give shaft 4| an additional lateral component of motion which adds to the difliculty of steering the plane.

Referring now to Figure 11, in this embodiment spindle ||a is mounted on a post 60-which in turn is secured to a support 6|. Support 6| in turn is mounted in such manner as to tilt in any direction. To this end, support 6| is mounted on three legs 62a, 62b and 620. The points of connection 63 between the legs and support 6| are made flexible. The legs are respectively flexibly secured to pistons 64a, 64b and 640, operating in piston chambers 65a, 65b and 650. Piston chambers 65a, 65b and 650 are connected by passages 66a, 66b and 660 to a valve chamber 61 (Figure 12) in which is mounted a rotatable valve 68 having connected passages 69a, 69b and 690. Valve 68 is rotatable in valve chamber 61 by knob H3 extending above the valve chamber to adjust the alignment of passages 69a, 69b and 690 with passages 66a, 66b and 66c, respectively.

Piston chambers 65a, 65b and 650, passages 66a, 66b and 660, and the passages in valve 68 are filled with liquid, and rotational adjustment of the valve 68 varies the freedom of flow of liquid between the piston chambers.

Applying a force normal to axis I causes pistons 64a, 64b and 64.0 to rise and fall, their motion, however, being viscous damped by the controlled flow of liquid from the falling piston or pistons to the rising pistons or piston, thereby tilting axis II in the manner described in connection with the Figure 2 embodiment. By adjusting the position of valve 68 by knob 70, the speed of image l produced by axis movement is adjustable.

As in the Figure 2 embodiment, an annular steering device 2|a is provided carrying steering pin 22, which serves to steer the plane and change the direction of the application of the silhouette-operating force. The operating force may be obtained by gravity as in the Figure 2 embodiment, or by magnet as in the Figure embodiment, or by a spring as in the Figure 9 embodiment.

.It is to be understood that in place of a reflecting silhouette H), the spindle I la may be enlarged to contain a small battery and'lamp that projects a beam of light onto the ceiling, and that by providing a suitable image-controlling film with the lamp, an image may be cast onto the ceiling,

Also in place of the reflecting silhouette a light wood plane (for example balsa wood) may be mounted extending upwardly from the sleeve 21. A rod mounted close to the sleeve 21 would carry the Weight 34, and a rod extending in the opposite direction would cooperate with the steering pin. to turn the rod carrying the balsa wood plane. Thus. the'weight 34 would drive the base 24 "and the'plane, and the steering pin would be used to steer the plane in its flight. The balsa wood plane may be used to cast a moving shadow or may be moved around to simulate the flight of an actual plane.

As many embodiments might be made of the present invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment disclosed herein, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is to be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

I claim: v 1 V 1. In a toy for projecting a moving image upon a ceiling, in combination, a reflecting member for refiectingan incident light beam to form upon an irregular reflecting surface an image, a shaft supporting the member, a rocking support carrying said shaft'and permitting rocking motion of the shaft at all angles from the vertical thereby to tilt the reflecting member in all directions and move the image over the ceiling, a force-applying memberassociated with said reflecting member and disposed to impart rocking motion to the shaft, said force-applying member being movable around saidsupport to change the direction and angle of rocking motion, thereby to change the direction of motion of the image, and damping means associated with said shaft and exerting a retarding force acting against said shaft-rocking motion thereby to regulate the rate of tilting movement of the reflecting member and the speed of image movement. I

2. In a"toy for projecting a moving image upon a ceiling, in combination, a reflecting member for reflecting'an incident light beam to form upon a ceiling an image, a shaft pivotally supporting the member, a rocking support carrying said shaft and permitting rocking motion of the shaft at all angles from the vertical thereby to tiltthe reflecting member in all directions and move the image over the ceiling, a force-applying member associated with said reflecting member and disposed to impart rocking motion to the shaft, said force-applying member being movable around said support to change the direction and angleof rocking motion, thereby to change the direction of motion of the image, damping means associated with said support and exerting retarding force acting against said shaft rocking motion thereby to regulate the rate of tilting movement of the reflecting member and the speed of image movement, and mechanism associated with said reflecting member and arranged to turn saidreflecting member about the shaft as said force-applying member is moved around the support, whereby as said reflecting member is turned on, said shaft to change the direction in which the image points, the force-applying memberis simultaneously moved to cause the image to move forwardly in the direction in which it points.

3. In a toy for producing a moving image upon an irregular reflecting surface, in combination, a reflecting member for reflecting an incident light beam to form upon the irregular reflecting surface an image, a rockable support holding esaid reflecting member for tilting movement inyall directions whereby to moyeythe image over the "surface, a forceeapplying member associated with said reflecting "membenand disposed to impart a rocking movement ,to :the support, dampin member to change the direction of tilting movement of said reflecting member and so to change the direction of travel of said image. 7

1 4. In a toy for producing a moving image, in combination, a light-projecting device for pro-. jecting a moving lights-beam onto an irregular reflecting surface to form a moving image thereon, a rockable support holding said devicefor tilting movement in all directions to move the light beam over the reflecting surface, force-applying mechanism associated with said device and disposed to impart rocking movementto the rockable'supportto tip the light-projecting device and move the light beam, a viscous damping device associated with said support forexerting a retarding force against therocking movement of the support, thereby to. regulate the rate Of movement'and the speed of the light beam, and mechanism associated with said support for changing the position of said force-applying mechanism about said support to change the direction of the rocking movement'and so of the travel of the light beam.

5. In a toy for producing a moving lightbeam on a ceiling, in combination, a light-projecting device for projecting a light beam on said ceiling, a rocking support holding said device for tilting movement all directions to move the light beam over the ceiling, force-applying mechanism associated with 'said device and disposed to impart a movement to the light-projecting device andmove the light beam, damping means associated with said support for exerting 'a' retarding force against the movement of the lightprojec-ting device, thereby toregulate the rate of movement and thespeed of the light beam, and mechanism associated with said support for changing application of said force-applying mechanism about said support to change the direction of the movement of the light-projecting device and so of the travel of the light beam.

-6. In a toy for producing a moving image on an irregular light-reflecting surface, in combination, a'reflecting member shaped to reflect light and produce an image on the surface,a rockable support holding the member and rockable to tip the member in all directionsfrom the horizontal, thereby tomove, the image over the surface, a force-applying member associated with said reflecting member and disposed to apply thereto a force to rock the support, a stationary device holding a liquid, said liquid being mechanically interposed between the rockable support andthe stationary device to retard rocking movement of the support by applying a viscous damping force thereto to control'the speed at which the image moves over the surface, and the direction of application of force exerted by said forceapplying member being movable about said rockable support to change, its direction of rocking and thereby change the direction of travel of. the

7. In'mechanism for producing; an image on ;a reflecting surface movable thereacross in a controlled direction-and ".ata controlled speed, in combination, .a tiltableimage-producing device, .a .universalvmounting supporting said device for universal tilting, forces-exerting means associated with said device and disposed to exert a force'on said -device to :tilt 'said device .to cause the image .tO travel across said reflectingsurface, said forceexerting means being -movable with respect to said universal mounting to control the direction of. tilting. of said flimageeproducing device, and said universal'mounting -including means exert.- ing a retarding; force on" said image-producing device to control'th'e-rate of tilting of saiddevice and thereby the speed at which said beam travels across said reflecting surface.

8. In a device: for projecting-a moving 'beam of light onto a reflecting surface, in combination, a lightebeam producing member, a movable support therefor,;=having ai'movable axis, said support :being rockable in all directions to'move the light beam .overthe reflecting surf-ace, a forceflapplying member associated with said support and movable :about'a vertical axis to apply a force component I to said support normal to its movable axis, to rock said support in the direction of said force componenttherebytomove said light beam in all directiorisjineans mechanically connected to said "force-applying member to change its position about said vertical axis, and a flowableliquidass'ociated with said support and adaptedto retard movement of said support by viscous damping. thereby to control the speed of movement of said light beam.

a 9. Ina mechanism for producing animage on an irregularreflecting surface, movable thereacross in a controlled direction and at a controlled speed, in combination, an image-producing device, a supportingmember having anaxis and. mechanically holding said image-producing device to maintain its axis fixed with respect'to the axis of said support, a mounting mechanism mounting said supporting member and permitting rocking movement of its axis in all directions,'a force-exerting device associated with said supporting member to apply a force component thereto to rock said supporting member, thereby to tilt the image-producing-device and move the image over the reflecting surface, said forceporting member to change the direction of the tilting motion and thereby change the direction of movement of 'the light beam, and fluid-damping mechanism exerting a retarding force on the rocking'motion of the supporting member to control the speed of movement of the image over the reflecting surface. 1

10. In a mechanism for pro ecting a light beam onto 'anirregular reflecting surface to cause said light"beam to travel thereacross in a controlled direction and at a controlled speed, in combination, a light beam-projecting device, a supporting member. having an' axis'and mechanically holding said light-projecting. device to maintain its axis in fixedv relation to that o-f'the axis of said support, amounting mechanism mounting said supporting member and permitting rocking movement of. its axis in all directions, a'force-exerting device'associa'ted with said supporting mem-- her to apply thereto a force component to rock said supporting member, thereby to tilt the lightprojecting device and move the light beam over the reflecting surface, said forceeexerting device being movable around said supporting member to change the direction of thetilting motion and thereby change the direction of movement of the light beam, and viscous-damping mechanism associated with said mounting mechanism and exerting a force on the rocking motion of the supporting member to control the speed of movement of the light beam over the reflecting surface, said light-projecting device comprising a regular reflecting surface shaped to produce on the irregular reflecting surface an image of a recognizable object.

11. In a mechanism for projecting a light beam onto an irregular reflecting surface to cause said light beam to travel thereacross in a controlled direction and at a controlled speed, in combination, a light beam-projecting device, a supporting member having an axis and mechanically holding said light-projecting device to maintain its axis parallel to the axis of said support, a mounting mechanism mounting said supporting member and permitting rocking movement of its axis in all directions, a force-exerting device associated with said supporting member to apply thereto a force component to rock said supporting member, thereby to tilt the light-beam-projecting device and move the light beam over the reflecting surface, said force-exerting device being movable around said supporting member, to change the direction of the tilting motion and thereby change the direction of movement of the light beam, and fluid-damping mechanism associated with said mounting mechanism and exerting a force on the rocking motion of the supporting member to control the speed of movement of the light beam over the reflecting surface, said lightbeam-projecting device comprising a regular refleeting surface shaped to produce on the irregular reflecting surface an image of a recognizable object, and said light projecting device being pivoted on said supporting member to point in the direction of said force component whereby the image moves always in the direction in which it points.

12. In a mechanism for projecting a light beam onto an irregular reflecting surface to cause said light beam to travel thereacross in a controlled direction and at a controlled speed, in combination, a light-beam-projecting device, a supporting member having an axis and mechanically holding said light-projecting device to maintain its axis parallel to the axis of said support, a mounting mechanism mounting said supporting member and permitting rocking movement of its axis in all directions, a force-exerting device associated with said supporting member to apply thereto a force component to rock said supporting member, thereby to tilt the light--.

beam-projecting device and move the light beam over the reflecting surface, said force-exerting device being movable around said supporting member to change the direction of the tilting motion and thereby change the direction of movement of the light beam, and viscous-damping mechanism associated with said supporting member and adapted to exert a retarding force on the rocking motion of the supporting member to control the speed of movement of the light beam over the reflecting surface, said light-beam-projecting device comprising a regular reflecting surface in the form of a silhouette, and having a slightly convex spherical surface to produce an enlarged and clear reflected image.

13. In a toy for projecting a moving image upon an irregular reflecting surface, in combination, a silhouette having a regular light-refracting surface. a spindle pivotally supporting the sil- 12 houette and rockable in all directions to tilt the silhouette and thereby move the image over the ceiling, a base having a convex hemisphericallyshaped surface, said spindle being carried by and projecting upwardly from said base, a stationary concave socket for receiving the shaped surface of said base, a viscous liquid in the socket to retard rocking movement of the base therein, a Weight on one end of said silhouette for overbalancing said silhouette and causin said base to rock in the socket and thereby tilt the silhouette to move the image over the irregular reflecting surface at a controlled speed, and a steering member associated with said silhouette for pivoting the silhouette on the spindle to change the azimuth position of the silhouette to change the direction of movement of the image over the irregular reflecting surface.

14. In a toy for producing a moving image on an irregular reflecting surface, in combination, a light-projecting device for projecting a light beam on said surface, a rockable support hold ing said device for tilting movement in-all directions to move the light beam over the ceiling, said support comprising a flexible diaphragm and a shaft supported from and extending through the diaphragm, force-applying mechanism associated With said support for imparting a rocking movement to the support to tip the light-projecting device and move the light beam, viscous-damping means associated With said support and exerting a retarding force against the rocking movement of the support, thereby to regulate the rate of rocking and the speed of the light beam, said damping means comprising a stationary viscous liquid pool into which said shaft extends, and mechanism associated with said force-applying mechanism for changing the position of said force-applying mechanism about said support to change the direction of the rocking movement and so of the travel of the light beam, and said diaphragm sealing said pool against atmosphere.

15. In a toy for producing a moving image, in combination, an image-producing device for producing an image, a rockable support holding said device for tilting movement in all directions to move the image, said support comprising a shaft of solid flowable non-resilient material anchored at its base, force-applying mechanism associated with said support for imparting a rocking movement to the support to tip the device and move the image, the retarding force of the material of said shaft acting against the rocking movement of the support, thereby to regulate the rate of rocking and the speed of the image, and mechanism associated with said forceapplying mechanism for changing the position of said force-applying mechanism about said support to change the direction of the rocking movement and so of the travel of the image.

16. In a toy for producing a moving image on an irregular reflecting surface, in combination, a light-projecting device for producing an image on said surface, a rockable support holding said device for tilting movement in all directions to move the image over the surface, force-applying mechanism associated with said support for imparting a rockin movement to the support to p the p l g device and move the image, said force-applying mechanism comprising a magnet for producing a magnetic field acting on said support, damping means associated with said mechanism adapted to exert a'retarding force against the rocking movement of the supp t r y to g ate the rate of rocking and 13 the speed of the image, and mechanism associated with said force-applying mechanism and adapted to change the application of said forceapplying mechanism about said support to change the direction of the rocking movement and so of the travel of the image.

17. In a toy for projectin a moving light, in combination, a light-projecting device for projecting a light beam, a rockable support holding said device for tilting movement in all directions to move the light beam, force-applying mechanism associated'with said support for imparting a rocking movement to the support to tip the light-projecting device and move the light beam, said force-applying mechanism comprising a spring pulling on said support, viscous-damping means associated with said support and adapted to exert a retarding force against the rocking movement of the support, thereby to control the speed of the light beam, and mechanism associated with said spring for changing the position of said spring about the support to change the direction of the rocking movement.

18. A toy comprising a movable object-simulating device, a universal mounting carrying said device for universal tilting movement, force-exerting means forming a part of said device for exerting thereupon a force to tilt said device, said force-exerting means being movable with respect to said universal mounting to control the direction of tilting of said device, and damping means associated with said device and adapted to exert a retarding force on said device to control its rate of tilting and thereby control its speed.

HOEL L. BOWDITCH.

REFERENCES CITED The jollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

